Write this in your Lifeguarding Instructor’s Manual

The copyrighted 2016, released 2017 American Red Cross Lifeguarding Instructor’s Manual does not reference which page in the participants manual (American Red Cross Lifeguarding Manual) the material the instructor is lecturing about. It only references chapter numbers.

In the waterfront lifeguard training section it does not even give chapters and the lecture skips around many different participant manual pages.

Below are page numbers to write in your manual, some notes on other references, and in some cases, why I wrote the notes. (I had the assistance of three other Red Cross lifeguard instructors, one of whom is also an L.G.I.T. All of us have been Waterfront Lifeguard instructors and volunteered at triathlons.)

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But first, the participant’s manual:

The copyrighted 2016, released 2017 American Red Cross Lifeguarding Manual does not reference skills sheet page numbers at the pages about each subject.

To make it easier/faster for my classes to find the Red Cross Lifeguarding Manual skills sheets and in some cases, to make the skills easier to do, I ask them write page numbers/notes at many pages. For longer notes they can print the write in your Red Cross Lifeguarding Manual webpage, cut out paragraphs and paste them into their participant’s manual.

I would like to suggest that instructors also write the notes at write in your Red Cross Lifeguarding Manual in their copies of the American Red Cross Lifeguarding Manual. Note the “You might find it easier” references for some of the skills.

At page Page 312 at the bottom of the page, I ask my lifeguard candidates to write: “never use Crazy Glue on a wound”. Some of them have countered that there is a substance like Crazy Glue used in surgeries, to which I say, surgeries are very clean and . . . if you go to the Krazy Glue webpage at: http://www.krazyglue.com/faq/ and click on I’ve heard it was invented to seal battlefield wounds, you will find the statement “Instant Krazy Glue ® products should not be used for wound care.”

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Back to the Instructor’s manual references:

In the instructor’s manual, each page has a series of boxes. I write the participants manual page number in the long, narrow column to the left of the section I am lecturing from so I can send people to that page during the lecture. I suggest you cross reference these as you write them in, in case you disagree with what page should be referenced.

I also included items worth mentioning, many of which are quotes from the copyrighted 2016, issued 2017, First Aid for Public Safety Personnel (California Title 22) lectures. As I read the First Aid for Public Safety Personnel Instructor’s Manual Supplement I noticed things first aid and lifeguard students had had questions about.

Some other notes are to help students better understand things that previous students have been confused about, or just links to info not covered in a lifeguarding manual that previous students have appreciated knowing about.

On page 66

second box at the top left hand side, write: 4

at the second half of the second box, write: 5 (see also 94)

On page 67 near the top, write: 3

Page 68, first box write: 8

second box, near the bottom, write: 9

Page 69 write: 9

It is worth mentioning during your lecture on consent, that the emergency medical assistance for a minor (under age 18) without a parent/guardian to be found, is implied, BUT it must be for a life-threatening problem, not just a small scrape.

Just because someone is a friend or relative, consent is not implied for them.

Page 70 write: 10

Page 71 write 11, then write 12

Page 72 at the top, perhaps there is a typographical error. Make the following correction, where it says “you do not need to have the class complete all three,” change it from “all three” to “both”.

Page 73 write: 13

Page 74, in both boxes, write: 25

Page 75, first box write: list on 31-32

Page 75 second box, write: keep the rescue tube ready, page 25

Page 76, second box, write: 40

Page 77, first box, write: 40

Page 77, second box, write: 43

Page 78, at the top, write: blank activity worksheets are in this instructor’s manual, un-numbered pages following page 524

page 110, first box, write: 73 and at the top of the blue box next to it, write: Instr. 96

page 112, first box, write: 99

page 113, first box, write: 100

Page 115, second box, write: 118

page 116, first box, write: 119 and below that 127, table 5-1

In the participants manual, Page 127 includes calling 911. Your students also might be interested to know in a lot of Canada you can dial 911 in an emergency just like in the U.S. But in other countries it’s often a different number. See this list from the U.S. Department of State and double check when you get there:

And note that in many other countries, when you call their emergency services (911 or 999 or 112 or a local number or ___ ) it does not necessarily mean an ambulance will be dispatched. The emergency services operator decides what’s appropriate, talking you through your own first aid, or sending you to your doctor or sending an EMT with or without an ambulance.

“page 175 step 3 write: You might find it easier to roll the victim over if you use a bigger “twist.” Swing the victim’s wrist/forearm in a large arc underwater, down, to the side and up. OR you might find it easier if you use instructions from a YMCA Lifeguard Manual: “Grasp the victim’s wrist with your thumb on top. Turn the victim faceup by pulling the arm down and then back up toward the surface (draw a U). Simultaneously, with the opposite hand in the center of the tube, push down to submerge the tube while pulling the victim’s wrist just past your ear and pulling him or her onto the tube.” )

Page 126, in my copy of the book, there seems to be some typos. In the fourth box down, “leans back to pull victim face-up” should be in the ‘not proficient’ box, and “rolls victim over” should be in it’s place in the ‘proficient’ section. And in the fourth box on the right hand side, we replaced the word “pull” with “roll.”

The last boxes (‘switches to a towing position’) should not be there at all.

page 131, first box, write: 151, and in the box to the right of it, write 180, 183

page 134, first box, at the end at shallow water lifeguard, write: 180

page 135, last box, write 180

page 136, first box, write 183

page 136, last box, write 180

Page 137, second box, write: 183, last box write 181

page 138, first box, write 182 and next to the words “equalize pressure”, write 159

page 145, first box, write 203, second box, write: 223

and make a note: Kevlar gloves are puncture resistant. Nitrile gloves are resistant to most moderate chemicals. If you must use latex, touch victim as little as possible until you know if they are allergic to latex.

In the participants manual,
Page 207 includes hepatitis vaccinations. Generally, the vaccinations you got as a child will protect you the rest of your life, with a few exceptions. An adult recommended vaccinations schedule is at http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/schedules/index.html

page 148, first box, write 213-4

next to the Science Note, write: shout-tap-pinch is not mentioned in the student manual. Shout-tap-shout is on page 213.

It could be worth mentioning to students that unconsciousness and being asleep are not the same. Also, you can be awake and only partially conscious.

page 149, first box, write 213, 229-230

page 150, first box, write: 216, second box, 224-5, fourth box 229-30

page 151, first box, write: 214, second box, 213

page 152, first box, write: 233, second box, 233-4

page 153, first box, write: 234, below that, 234, 239-241

In the participants manual,
Page 241 has info on administering epinephrine. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has made updates to the patient instructions for epinephrine auto-injectors:

Especially note the Injection-Related Complications, for example, “do not inject intravenously, into a buttock, digits, hands or feet.. . Hold leg firmly during injection. Lacerations, bent needles, and embedded needles have been reported when EpiPen and EpiPen Jr have been injected into the thigh of young children who are uncooperative and kick or move during an injection.”

page 154, first box, write: 259

page 156, first box, write: 261

page 157, first box, write: 245, third box 247, 263

(If you are not including an Oxygen Administration course with the lifeguard cert, now could be a good time to point out the info on pages 248-253, 269-270 and encourage learning these skills in another class.)

page 158, first box, write: 266

(As you finish chapter 6, students might wonder why you skipped Escapes and in-water ventilations, so tell them in advance of their asking that these skills will be covered later.)

On the same page in the student manual about shock, (314), hemostatic dressings are mentioned. It could be worthwhile to tell students that to stay effective, hemostatic dressings require continuous direct pressure at the source of the bleeding until controlled.

page 203, first box, write: 323, second box, 324, and you can add an “R’ to the word “emegnecies” third box: 325

It could be worthwhile to tell your lifeguard candidates that if part of a bone is protruding through the skin, do not attempt to align/straighten the bone or place the bone(s) back into the body.

page 210, first box, write: 341

page 212, second box, write: 161/198, 161/199

page 221, second box, write: 341, 342

page 222, write: 359, 360-1, 366, 368

WATERFRONT LIFEGUARDING

page 410, second box, write: 34

In my waterfront lifeguard class we talk about gloving up to clean up the sand at a beach each morning. We talk about the occasional need to look for used needles when you rake the sand. Yet another hazard is from the National Park Service Morning report of Monday, December 29, 2003:

Dry Tortugas National Park (FL)

Employee Injury from Bang Stick Discharge

While on patrol along the beach at Garden Key on the afternoon of December 18th, ranger Tim Morrison discovered a stainless steel object approximately four inches long lying in the sand. Initial examination indicated that the object was possibly the nozzle to an air compressor hose. Morrison placed the object in his pants pocket and continued working the rest of his shift. Later that evening, he removed the object from his pocket to re-examine it. After looking it over, he set it down on a table, at which point it detonated. The discharge of what was later determined to be a .357 caliber round severely injured his right index finger and caused powder burns to his face. The Coast Guard was notified and airlifted Morrison to Key West Hospital at about 3:30 a.m. After several hours of surgery, doctors where able to clean and close the wound. A day later, Morrison was released by the hospital. Investigation revealed that the object was the end of a device used by scuba divers called a “bang stick.” In this case, it was made of stainless steel. The bang stick broke down into two parts by unscrewing it. Inside one part was a firing pin and spring; inside the other was the an empty casing to a .357 magnum round. The bullet embedded in the ceiling of Morrison’s quarters at Fort Jefferson. It only takes approximately two pounds of pressure to set one off and is usually used in conjunction with a long rod or stick. The device, when not attached to a stick, looks very benign. Morrison hopes this information prevents such an unfortunate incident from happening to anyone else.
[Submitted by Willie Lopez, Site Supervisor]

page 411, first box, near the top, write: 35, and near the bottom at water quality, write 37

page 416, first box, write: 109, second box at the top, write: 125, at the bottom, write: 124

page 417, write 176 at run and swim entry, 190 at walking assist, 190 at beach drag, and 365 at head-splint

page 418 where it says: ” . . . nose until the pressure is relieved.” add: “But don’t let any air escape from your nose.”

page 418, write 158 at fitting a mask, 160 at entering with mask and fins, 157 at searching deep water

and perhaps mention to students: when looking from the surface to the bottom in a quick search immediately after someone is missing, or when searching where there are many waterweeds, or murky water, you should not necessarily have in mind to look for the full shape of a body lying on the bottom. On light colored sand a light skinned person might not be that visible, but their dark swimsuit or dark hair could be, or vice-versa dark skin and a yellow bathing suit, for example.

It could be wise to have swimmers wear yellow/bright pink/lime green/white swim caps like they do at open water triathlons.

page 419 write: 192, 193, 194

(Sorry, little spare time . . . NOT ALL of the typos we found, or things that seem to be missing/out of place, are listed at this page.)

Puleeeeease go to the new Instructor’s Corner and look for the corrections they posted shortly after the release of the new lifeguarding program.

As I have the time I will complete this webpage, but the waterpark skills pages are not at the top of my to-do list.)

See also:

Lifeguard Training FAQS has advice on how to pass the prerequisite swim tests that you could pass on to potential students.

– – – I give this advice at the start of the class about waterproof sunscreen. A sun protection factor (SPF) of 15 means you can supposedly stay in the sun 15 times as long as without using it, but it rarely works that well. If you are worried about getting too much sun you should be using sunscreen of 30 or even 60 regularly, not just at the pool.

Read the instructions, do they say you have to wait 30 minutes after applying the sunscreen before you can get in the pool? (Most kinds will wash right off and just make an oil slick in the pool if you apply them right before getting in). I use a brand that allows me to get in the pool right away.

Test a little before you use any extensively; some people are allergic to some kinds.

– – – I also give this advice: Lifeguard training students should remove all piercings, but at least those that protrude from your body (example: you might be safe with a flat ear stud, but not with loop earrings). Read body piercings and lifeguards to help you determine which piercings you will remove:http://www.aquaticsintl.com/lifeguards/saving-your-skin.aspx

See Enforcing Rules, page 93 and Communication with Patrons and a list of rules on page 92 of the Lifeguarding Manual. Preventative Lifeguarding has notes from various staff manuals, personal experiences and the Red Cross texts. It includes UNSAFE PRACTICES or potential problems TO WATCH FOR, areas where most accidents occur, accident prevention tips that USA Swimming coaches know and suggested disciplinary action for minor and major infractions.